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Yugo Mauser Redux--Scope Mount Brackets?

trstone
I know, we've been through this before....

After royally screwing up my old Yugo 48A, I got another one (another in-the-box, minty-bore import job.) I'm gonna try to scope this beast too, but THIS time, I'm not taking the brainless approach I did last time---to wit, I'm replacing the bolt-handle with a conversion kit, and I'm going to take the silly thing to an ACTUAL GUNSMITH to have the scope mounts PROFESSIONALLY drilled and tapped. Now, the question I have is this: What sort of two-piece scope-mounts should I get for this thing, so I don't have to mill down that stupid raised ridge at the back of the action where the notch is for the stripper clip? Or am I stuck having to mill that ridge down, no matter what? I'd like to avoid the long, one-piece Leupold mount for essentially esthetic reasons. HELP!

....And I apologize for bugging you guys about this again, but have pity on me---I never said I was smart! (sheepish grin)
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • allen griggs
    For the bolt, are you talking about one of those kits where you saw off the bolt and attach a new one with a screw? If so, you know, you can get the gunsmith to bend that Mauser bolt. It really looks good.
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  • trstone
    Indeed so---I'm talking about a Mauser bolt-conversion kit, no welding necessary. I keep hearing stuff like "expensive" and "they have to re-temper the cocking cam" and "it'll be about a week", and I'm thinking (1) This will work just fine, (2) It won't cost me an arm and a leg, and (3)It won't take me a week to get it done.
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  • hulvin
    Scope mount for M48 - can be any 2 piece mount for FN Mauser (first choice), Interarms Mk X or Mauser M98.
    You do not have to grind that bridge, just to alter the rear mount base.
    If you even do not wish to alter the bolt handle, you can buy a See-Thru Weaver scope mount, which is high enough to allow a handle to clear (maybe a slight bent would be required).
    Give that job to a gunsmith.
    Hulvin
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  • allen griggs
    Taking a week to get work done on a Mauser is not a big deal. Sometimes you gotta be patient. How much does your gunsmith want to bend the bolt?
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  • trstone
    Everone I've talked to has come up with the same figure for modifying the bolt-handle: $100. The last guy I talked to was telling me "you have to recess that bolt-handle into the bolt" and blah-blah-blah, which made it sound like a truly major undertaking. And to make matters worse, I'm getting awfully suspicious of the Mauser bolt-handle conversion kit now---it looks like a pretty stupid design.
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  • allen griggs
    I am glad you are having second thoughts about that bolt kit. I have not seen one for the Mauser, but I have seen two for Mosin Nagant. They really look amateurish.
    In a Yugo Mauser you have one of the great rifles of all time. You owe it better than that. I wish you would contact Jim R, The Boltman. He specializes in bending bolts. He is a master and a real craftsman. He will make you happy. He knows exactly what needs to be done to bend your bolt. You ship him the bolt, he ships it back.
    jhrobert@infi.net
    he has a web site
    http://www.armscenter.com/boltman
    I just looked at the site and he wants $35 to bend the Mauser bolt. He has photos of a lot of his work over there, check it out.
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  • trstone
    I just checked out that website you recommended, Alan---WOW! You're right, that gent does some very nice work! I've fired off an e-mail to him for the pertinent details, and unless it's going to take him a long time to do the job, I'll do business with him. And if ever I go completely insane and buy one of those BUTT-UGLY but highly functional Mosin-Nagants, with their Fred-Flintstone-Style crudely-made woodwork, I'll have that gent redo the handle on that too.

    Thanks EVER so much for the tip, Alan!

    P.S. Did I mention that Mosin-Nagants are butt-ugly? Well, they are.
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  • allen griggs
    Jim R will do you right. He has done bolts for dozens of guys over at gunboards.com, on the collector's forums.
    I am wondering about the gunsmiths you know. $100 seems so high to bend a bolt. Last year I was inquiring about getting the bolt bent on a Swede Mauser, with one gunsmith in Atlanta, and with another in North Carolina. The price from both was $25. Both said it was not a big deal, they had done it often. Also, each guy wanted $25 to drill and tap. I don't know how working on the Swede compares to the Yugo, but the receiver of the Swede, I am told, is difficult and has to be annealed prior to drilling and tapping.
    What if Jim R says it will take 6 weeks on bending the bolt? Are you going to say forget it, and just do the bolt kit? Take your time and get it done right. Deer season doesn't open for 6 months, what is the hurry? You have already messed up one Mauser by being in a hurry. You have a rifle that will last a hundred years and still shoot well. Your grandson could be deer hunting with this rifle, if you take the time to get a well made and good looking conversion job.
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  • trstone
    I don't consider a four-weeks-max time frame to be "in a hurry", and hunting is DEFINITELY not on my agenda. However, I have a tendency to think of looking elsewhere when someone tells me "ten weeks minimum" turnaround time for bending a bolt. Either the process is exceedingly complicated---requiring the re-hardening of heated parts and such---or the smith is simply overwhelmed with customers. Or both. Probably both, I suspect. And while it's true I sacrificed a Yugo in haste the last time, it doesn't alter the fact that (A) Near-mint Yugo 48s are plentiful and not terribly expensive, and (B) Getting a bolt bent and scope-bases mounted shouldn't be a two-month project, or cost me (in total) more than 50% of the Yugo's value. There has to be a happy medium here somewhere....
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